PPAMidwest Wishes You A Very Happy New Year!
As the New Year begins, we are filled with hope and new expectations for 2022.
PPAMidwest is thankful for all the support we have received from each of you in 2021
and look forward to working alongside all of you this year.
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As the new year begins, so do our membership renewals. Memberships renew every year on January 1 and last for the entire calendar year. You should have received an email with a membership renewal notification in December. If you have not already done so, please click here to renew for 2022.
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A Message From Our PPAMidwest President......
PPAMidwest Members,
The past year has felt more like 3000 months versus twelve. With no wisdom-filled playbook, we had to trust our gut when it came to making personal & professional decisions. I am thrilled to embrace the clean slate of a new year, but I will also appreciate all that I learned in both 2020 & 2021 (“Never let a good crisis go to waste”. -Winston Churchill“).
Reflecting upon our industry & our regional association these past 22 months, a few things for which I'm grateful are:
- Our amazing Executive Director, Tiffany Kanak, who helped guide our Board of Directors
- Wonderful leadership from our Immediate Past President, Joe Huber
- A talented Board of Directors who brought forth creative ideas that brought value & growth to our membership
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Industry connections (many of whom I've never met outside of zoom!)
As we forge into 2022, the goals of PPAMidwest are to:
- Bring value & growth to our membership through local events such as trade shows and social events
- Offering increased educational & volunteer opportunities to our membership
- Connecting supplier, distributor & service provider members to enhance their network
Your new Board of Directors are already busy at work planning our Spring & Fall Product Showcases (save the dates: 3/29-KC, 3/30-St. Louis), Golf Tournament, Education, Social & Networking Events and more! Stay tuned to our newsletter, social channels and calendar of events for all details.
I am honored to work with this amazing board in 2022 and excited about what the year holds for our industry & our regional association. With that, I ask, how may I be of help to you? What would you like to see from PPAMidwest this year? Please feel free to reach out directly to me at mandi@brandenergymarketing.com.
With gratitude,
Mandi Rudd
2022 PPAMidwest President
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January 26, 2022 Wild Wednesday Webinar:
"2022 State of the Industry with ASI, CEO, Tim Andrews"
The 2022 State of the Industry, a comprehensive overview of the promo industry’s most pressing issues, including strategies, case studies and tips for finding success in a complicated, ever-changing world.
Learning Outcomes:
Learn the Latest on:
- The Shipping Crisis
- Product Price Hikes
- Product Availability
- Strategies for Success in Uncertain Times
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Mark your calendars to attend our upcoming Spring Product Premiere!
Not Just Another Traveling Rep Show!!
This show is the COMPLETE promotional products experience featuring
the most professional Suppliers and Distributors in the industry.
The PPAMidwest Spring Product Premiere is one of the best opportunities
to connect with top Suppliers and Multi-line Reps. Designed for industry
veterans and newcomers alike, this show delivers quality and more of what
you are looking for to boost your business as we enter the 2nd quarter.
Distributor registration is opening soon!!
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American Solutions for Business Hires Bori Ly as Regional VP of Strategic Operations Support
Glenwood, MN – American Solutions for Business announced that Bori Ly will be joining the team as Regional VP of Strategic Operations Support.
“We’re so excited to have Bori join our team,” expresses Amy Spychalla, VP of Strategic Operations Support. “With his industry knowledge and strong people skills, Bori will be a solid addition to our team, working with sales associates across the country to develop and present creative solutions to grow their business.”
Prior to joining American, Bori served as the National Sales Manager for HPG, where he managed national accounts through face-to-face meetings, and promoted strong relationship building through regional and national trade shows. He also achieved sales goals by hiring and training employees, while coaching them to develop their selling skills and maintain adequate sales pipelines.
Ly adds, “I’ve always admired the professionalism and family atmosphere of ASB. I’m excited about the potential to grow and collaborate with the best sales professionals.”
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Want to earn points and join in on the fun?
for the activities listed above (click on above image for a larger view).
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Glenwood, MN – American Solutions for Business pledged $8,315 during their annual United Way scavenger hunt. Held during the second week of November, 39 American Solutions for Business employee pledges help achieve the massive goal.
With virtual events held November 8th-12th, The United Way of Pope and Douglas Counties used their annual campaign to support their local community and spread the important work that their organization does.
“The annual campaign is a way for our company to support our community and spread the word about the important work that is done by the United Way of Pope and Douglas Counties,” explained Web Application Support Specialist, Michelle Pfeiffer. “Employees that participated in the events were eligible to win prizes. We had 39 employees this year who pledged a total of $8,315.”
United Way fosters and promotes an inclusive environment that leverages the unique contributions of diverse individuals and organizations so that we can collectively and effectively create opportunities for a better life for all.
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PPAMidwest Members.....
Are you taking advantage of your Member Benefits?
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Did You Miss Some of our Informative Webinars and Want to Catch Up? |
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As a PPAMidwest member, you have access to these webinars that may be watched when it is convenient for you. By watching a recording you can still earn CAS/MAS credit.
The webinars may be found HERE on the PPAMidwest website. Please make sure that you are logged in at www.ppam.org with your email address and password as this is a PPAMidwest Member Only benefit. Don't know your password? Reset it at any time on the main page to the right of the Log In button.
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Suppliers and Multi-Line Reps ~ Are you interested in hosting a virtual webinar or Lunch and Learn session in 2022? Please reach out to Tiffany at admin@ppam.org for more information and to schedule your date.
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PPAI Awards Celebration - January 10, 2022 |
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PPAI Presents Its Top Awards During Chair's Leadership Dinner
January 10, 2022 - During the Chair’s Leadership Dinner at The PPAI Expo in Las Vegas, PPAI awarded its highest honor, induction into the Hall of Fame, to Sherri C. Lennarson, MAS, retired senior vice president of business development at Bankers Advertising Company and Cliff Quicksell, MAS+, president of Cliff Quicksell Associates.
The annual award gives permanent recognition to individuals selected for their generous and monumental contributions of time and talent to the Association and industry. Eighty-nine individuals have previously been inducted into the Hall of Fame since its formation in 1977.
In addition to the Hall of Fame Awards, PPAI also presented its H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award to Peter Hirsch, MAS, president of Hirsch Gift, and its Distinguished Service Award to Brandon Mackay, MAS, president of SnugZ USA and David Regan, MAS, vice president of sales and marketing at The Vernon Company.
Also celebrated posthumously at the event were the 2022 recipients of PPAI’s Promotional Products Pioneers with trophies provided by supplier Bruce Fox. Those honored were Tom Constantino, who formed Noteworthy Co. in 1954, Ronald L. Cook of Glass Graphics and Edward Halperin of Perin Product Corp. Since 2016, the program has honored individuals whose business acumen or technological skill played a key role in the advancement of the promotional products industry.
Since The PPAI Expo 2021 was not held, the dinner also marked the first opportunity for in-person recognition of PPAI’s 2021 award winners. Each award winner was recognized, including Hall of Fame recipient Teresa Moisant, MAS; Humanitarian Award recipient Bob Waldorf, CAS; and Distinguished Service Award recipient Mark Ables, MAS. Ables was on hand to thank PPAI again for the recognition. Read more
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The One Common Denominator Between Successful People
Dylan Ogline • Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor • Founder of Ogline Digital
What ingredient is always present in success stories, and how can you start cooking with that ingredient?
What is the greatest predictor of a person’s success? Are successful people smarter than everyone else? More educated? Harder workers? Do they wake up earlier? Do they read more?
You can drive yourself crazy chasing that gopher. Every time you think you've cracked the code, an exception pops up. A billionaire who wakes up at 2 p.m. A CEO who doesn’t read. A seven-figure agency owner who's a high school dropout (oh my God, would you look at the time …?).
Is there any unifying thread to the prosperity potion? Any trait that is present in every success story? And if so, can we bottle it, sell it and make a trillion dollars?
Yes…and no. Yes, there is a common thread, and no you can’t bottle and sell it. That’s bad news for me, but good news for you. Since I can’t sell it to you, you don’t have to buy it from me. You just need to internalize the lesson and act on it. Read More
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PPAI Expo 2022 General Session |
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Industry Leaders Share Problem-Solving Advice
During The PPAI Expo General Session
Whether it’s an economic downturn or a global pandemic, all managers and leaders must, at some point, face challenging times and make difficult decisions. During The PPAI Expo general session on Monday, “Leading Through Adversity,” PPAI President and CEO Dale Denham, MAS, hosted a panel of industry leaders to share how they’ve led during tough times.
On stage, discussing mistakes and lessons learned, were Dawn Olds, MAS, senior vice president of operations at distributor HALO and incoming PPAI board chair; David Nicholson, president of supplier PCNA; Rosanne Webster, chief information officer at SnugZ USA; and Thomas Goos, MAS, president of distributor Image Source.
Diving right in, Denham asked each panelist: What was the biggest mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it? For Nicholson, it was how he was trying to improve a company, Bullet Line Promos, after its acquisition 15 years ago. “Bullet was doing well but was having consistent quality and service challenges. We never could seem to get it on track,” said Nicholson. After a tremendous effort of trying to improve processes and systems, Nicholson said it wasn’t getting better. “What I learned from that and what ultimately got us on track is, rather than focusing on the process and system, we weren’t focusing enough on the people. Start with the people.” Read more
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